Utah passes harsh penalties for protesting at oil pipeline sites
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Bri Cossavella/Cronkite News
Demonstrators protest the Dakota Access Pipeline in downtown Phoenix in 2016.
The protests at Standing Rock over the Dakota Access pipeline became a cultural touchstone for the fight for indigenous rights and environmental justice as hundreds of tribes from across the country came together in solidarity in 2016 and 2017.
Since then, a growing number of states have passed laws creating stiffer penalties for protesting at what’s called critical infrastructure sites — places like oil and gas facilities, railroads and power plants.
Utah, our neighbor to the north, just became the 19th state to pass such a law. The Show spoke more about it with Naveena Sadasivam, senior staff writer for environmental news nonprofit Grist.
